Six Possible Pot-Related Ballot Measures You Should Know About

A lot of high hopes are riding on the November 2016 general election in Arizona.

Paperwork for no fewer than six marijuana-related ballot measures has been filed with the state Secretary of State's Office in the last few months, with each measure aiming to make fundamental changes to the state's drug laws.

Only two or three are actually viable, most likely. Each needs to gather about 150,000 signatures, a formidable and expensive task.

But if you come across petition gatherers asking for your signature on any of them, here are the basics you need to know:

* Limits: Up to one ounce of buds and up to five grams of concentrated cannabis okay to possess by adults 21 and older. Possession of between one and 2.5 ounces to become a civil offense with a $300 fine and no increased penalty for each violation. Grow up to six plants per person, or 12 per household.

Shutterstock.com / Eldad Carin

2) Campaign to Legalize and Regulate Marijuana

* Sponsored by activist Jason Medar and Arizonans for Mindful Regulation, a group of cannabis activists who want a more permissive law than what MPP is offering.

* Measure is 20 pages and has a regulatory scheme similar to MPP's.

* Makes it easier for would-be small-time cannabis entrepreneurs to exist alongside a system of retail stores.

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* Limits: Up to one ounce legal for adults 21 and older. No distinction or special limit placed on concentrated marijuana — an ounce of shatter is as legal as an ounce of buds. Possession of between 2.5 and eight ounces for sale drops from a felony to a misdemeanor. Can grow up to 12 plants per person.

Photo illustration by Miche Ratto

3) Arizona Industrial Hemp Farming Act

* Sponsored by HOW Arizona, a Gilbert group represented by Christian Carrasco and Brittany Rose Murphy.

* Legalizes production and sale of hemp for industrial and research use. No apparent limits on number of plants or acres planted.

* Hemp is defined as a cannabis sativa plant registered as having no more than one-third of 1 percent of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Hemp can't get people high, but it can be used to make a large range of products.

* Establishes an Industrial Hemp Committee in Arizona to help manage things.

* In under two pages, the proposed initiative eliminates all laws and regulations of all drugs, including all street drugs (not just those in the title), prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs.

* Pardons all prior drug offenders and makes it illegal for any cop or government official to interfere with a person's "drug rights. To carry home its point, the measure would make police and government officials personally liable for $1 million in damages for each interfering incident.

Ray has worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won many awards awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.